The South Kingstown Chief of Police Matthew Moynihan addressed Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents on campus, issues regarding parking in the emporium and student involvement in a meeting with University of Rhode Island student senate on Wednesday.
Moynihan was previously part of the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service prior to the development of ICE.
Many students have expressed concerns about ICE agents on campus, according to Cole Rinne, speaker of the assembly.
“What would your advice be for students facing ICE agents on college campuses?,” Rinne said.
ICE has not been present on URI’s campus but in the case that a student does encounter an ICE agent open communication should be practiced, according to Moynihan.
“It comes down to having open communication when something’s not right and I always encourage that,” Moynihan said.
A distinction between the South Kingstown Police department and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents lies within the difference in law practices, according to Moynihan.
“The South Kingstown Police is not going around chasing people, ICE agents enforce their laws, we don’t do that,” Moynihan said.
The South Kingstown Police Department is currently working towards implementing more signage around the emporium regarding parking laws, according to Arpan Utkarsh Singh, chair of external affairs.
“They have supported initiatives from the Senate in regards to [the] emporium parking situation,” Singh said.
Student involvement in the South Kingstown community and communication between URI and the South Kingstown Police Department have been great, according to Moynihan.
“I can tell you that since day one it’s been a great experience working with the university [and] working with students,” Moynihan said.
Students have also been able to gain valuable experience within the South Kingstown Police Department, such as internships offering them the opportunity to participate in ride-alongs, according to Moynihan.
“We had two URI students involved last semester and they went on to join the police academy,” Moynihan said.
The student senate will meet again on Wednesday, Feb. 25, in Memorial Union room 300 at 6:30 p.m.
